Almond Milk Gains Retail Fridge Space

DUIVEN, The NetherlandsAlmond milk and almond milk blends are branching out from the traditional health food sector into the mainstream grocery market, according to Innova Market Insights.

Innova tracked more than 600 dairy alternative drinks launched in 2010, with almond milks and milk blends accounting for more than 8 percent of the new beverages. The number of almond lines was up from 6 percent in 2009, which doubled the percent of penetration of almond products five years previously in 2005.

According to Innova, almond milk is gaining popularity in Asia due to growing awareness of allergy and intolerance issues and the low fat, low calorie and cholesterol-free positioning of many products. Soy is struggling in some developed markets, particularly the Untied States, with regard to health scares, and the result in some instances has been a move to non-soy milk alternatives, including those made with ingredients such as rice, hemp, oats and coconut, as well as almonds and other nuts.

Dean Foods White Wave subsidiary launched PureAlmond, sold under its Silk branding that is usually associated with soy milk, while Blue Diamond Growers has its AlmondBreeze range made using its own almonds. Both brands have a number of flavor variants, particularly vanilla, as well as original and unsweetened options.

Competition in the sector has been ramped up as two mainstream brands have introduced chilled versions into grocery outlets alongside the original ambient products, previously found primarily in more specialist stores," Lu Ann Williams, Innova Market Insights' Head of Research said. The fight for dominance between the two players, both part of major companies, has not only grown their sales but also promoted overall awareness of the product, further encouraging development of smaller brands and retailer own-labels."